USL MATCH RECAP | Real Monarchs SLC: 4, Portland Timbers 2: 2

SANDY, Utah – Playing the first game of a three-match road swing, T2 fell 4-2 on the road to Real Monarchs SLC at Rio Tinto Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Timbers on loan
Multiple Portland Timbers made appearances for T2 in the match. Forward Jeremy Ebobisse, making his third straight start, registered his first goal of the season, while midfielder Victor Arboleda, making his second start of the season, also scored his first goal of the USL campaign. Timbers goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh, playing on loan, made his season debut and finished the match with six saves. Defender Modou Jadama made his third straight start. Timbers forward Foster Langsdorf, making his first start on loan, made his professional debut and played 45 minutes.

T2 firsts
Timbers Academy midfielder Carlos Anguiano made his first professional start in his second appearance of the season, playing the full 90 minutes. Midfielder Renzo Zambrano made his season debut, coming on as a second-half substitute and creating two chances. Midfielder Marvin Loría, made his T2 and USL debut, coming on as a second-half substitute for the final 11 minutes of the match.

Key plays
Real Monarchs took the lead in the fourth minute after midfielder Nick Besler headed home a cross from a corner kick delivery by midfielder Pablo Ruiz. Monarchs SLC doubled their lead four minutes later when defender Kalen Ryden headed midfielder Justin Portillo’s corner kick delivery. Real Monarchs took a 3-0 lead after Ryden headed Portillo’s set-piece delivery into the far corner of the net in the 32nd minute.

T2 cut into Monarchs SLC’s lead just before halftime when Ebobisse got on the end of the flicked ball and redirected his header at Monarchs SLC goalkeeper Andrew Putna, who initially made the save only for Ebobisse to slot the rebound into the back of the net in the 35th minute. Three minutes later, Langsdorf powered past his marker on the edge of the box, forcing Putna into a strong save. Just before halftime, Jadama’s header from the right edge of the six-yard box just flashed wide of the post in the 43rd minute.

Searching for a goal in the second half, T2 came close when defender Jimmy Mulligan cut in on his right foot from the left wing, striking his shot past the post in the 56th minute.

Portland scored in the 59th minute after midfielder Andre Lewis played a ball over the top of the Monarchs SLC defense that released Arboleda into space on the edge of the 18-yard box. Arboleda took a touch just before Putna could get a hand to the ball and calmy rolled the ball into the back of the net. The assist marked Lewis’ first of 2018.

Real Monarchs scored to make it a 4-2 game after midfielder Sebastian Velasquez dribbled past T2 defender Josh Phillips and finished at the far post in the 66th minute.

Second-half substitute Augustine Williams nearly scored in the 82nd minute after his headed attempt was directed into the gloves of Putna. In the 89th minute, Zambrano’s long-range shot was sent struck over the crossbar.

Next Game
Next up, T2 will travel to face Tulsa Roughnecks FC at ONEOK Stadium on Wednesday, April 4. Beginning at 5 p.m. (Pacific), the match against Roughnecks FC will be streamed live at www.timbers2.com.

Postgame Quote SheetT2 head coach Cameron KnowlesOn his overall thoughts on the match…“It was a disappointing start to the game. We dug ourselves a big hole by conceding goals early, but I thought the response to get back in the game, and especially when we came in to start the second half, was positive. The guys that came into the game contributed well, so that’s a positive for them.”

On the team responding well after falling behind early…“We made some personnel changes and a few changes to the way we were playing. Largely, it was a reminder to the players that they had to manage the threats we knew they were going to pose. We knew set pieces were going to be important. We knew in order to get back into the game that we need to defend well, but we also needed to get control of the ball. I think we didn’t force them to defend enough in the first half. In the second half, a big focus for us was getting control of the ball and being able to move it in order to create some opportunities.”

On the positives he can take away from the match heading into Wednesday’s game at Tulsa Roughnecks FC…
“We’ll reassess and give the guys a chance to recover physically and mentally from this performance and then look ahead building into to Wednesday. It’s a quick turnaround. We’ve got to get back on the horse and put this to bed. We’ll make some changes and hopefully everyone is healthy and we can assess the squad, but it presents a good opportunity for us to correct some things that went wrong and to build on the positive performances that from some guys that we saw in the second half.”